Entertainment Briefs

Packaged tickets to events at the Union Colony Civic Center for the 2014-15 season will be available to the general public beginning Monday.

The series packages include: Stage Spectaculars, Critics’ Choice, Just for Laughs, Catch a Star, Hensel Phelps and Travel Film Series. All of the series packages have five shows, except for the Hensel Phelps and Travel Film Series.

Bruce Springsteen dedicates song to Trayvon Martin

July 17, 2013 —

NEW YORK — Bruce Springsteen dedicated his protest song “American Skin (41 Shots)” to teenager Trayvon Martin during a concert in Limerick, Ireland.

In a video posted online, the 63-year-old singer told the crowd Tuesday: “We’ll send this as a letter back home for justice for Trayvon Martin” after noticing a fan’s sign that read “American Skin (41 Shots).”

George Zimmerman was acquitted Saturday of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin’s death. Zimmerman said he fired his gun in self-defense during a February 2012 confrontation with the 17-year-old in Sanford, Fla.

Lyrics in the song include “you can get killed just for living in your American skin.” Springsteen wrote the song about the 1999 police shooting death of Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo.

Retired Vegas signs come to light at Neon Museum

July 10, 2013 —

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas tourists can stroll through the Sin City of yesteryear at a museum full of the town’s retired neon signs.

The 2-acre Neon Museum and its visitors center opened in the fall and recently added nighttime hours. The outdoor lot boasts 150 signs, including one dating back to the 1930s that marked a restaurant for Hoover Dam construction workers.

Visitors can walk among the hulking metal relics that tout hotels long since demolished from Las Vegas streets, including the Sahara and the Stardust.

Four of the signs have been fully restored with working lights, while the others are illuminated by external floodlights.

Admission includes a guided tour. Tickets start at $12 for Nevada residents on a daytime tour and run up to $25 for nighttime tours.

Arts Picnic is accepting booth applications until April 22

April 4, 2013 —

The Arts Picnic committee is still accepting booth applications. The annual event that turns downtown Greeley’s Lincoln Park into an arts fair is held July 27-28 and features more than 160 vendors, entertainment stages, a food court and a beer garden.

Festival coordinator Rhonda Welch said that all arts and crafts were welcome as long as they were handmade by the vendor.

“They can expect large crowds because we’ve been doing an extensive marketing campaign throughout northern Colorado,” Welch said.

The picnic attracts between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors annually.

Interested artists and crafters can pick up an application package at the Department of Culture, Parks and Recreation, 651 10th Ave., or download one from www.artspicnic.com . A booth costs $90 plus a $10 processing fee. For more information, or to have an application mailed to you, call Rhonda Welch on (970) 350-9451. Applications must be postmarked on or before April 22 to meet the deadline.

Leno to leave NBC’s ‘Tonight Show’ next spring

April 3, 2013 —

NEW YORK — NBC today announced its long-rumored switch in late night, replacing Jay Leno at the “Tonight” show with Jimmy Fallon and moving the iconic franchise back to New York.

Fallon will take over in about a year, the switch coinciding with NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage next year. Veteran “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels also will take over as executive producer of “Tonight.”

NBC made no announcement on who would replace Fallon at the 12:35 a.m. “Late Night” slot, although Seth Meyers of “Saturday Night Live” is considered a strong candidate.

The change at “Tonight,” the longest-running and most popular late-night talk show, had been widely reported but not confirmed by the network until Wednesday. NBC reportedly just wrapped up negotiations with Fallon on a contract extension.

Steve Burke, chief executive officer of NBC Universal, said the network is purposefully making the move when Leno is still at the top of the ratings, just as when Leno replaced Johnny Carson at “Tonight” in 1992.

“Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time,” Burke said.

Leno, in a statement, offered his congratulations to Fallon.

“I hope you’re as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you’re the old guy,” he said. “If you need me, I’ll be at the garage.”

Fallon said: “I’m really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow.”

NBC has been quietly building a new studio for Fallon at its Rockefeller Center headquarters. “Tonight” began in New York in the 1950s, but Carson moved it to California in 1972. Starting next year, Fallon, Letterman, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will tape late-night shows in New York. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and TNT’s Conan O’Brien will be the top California-based shows.

“The ‘Tonight’ show will bring even more jobs and economic activity to our city, and we couldn’t be happier that one of New York’s own is bringing the show back to where it started, and where it belongs,” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

New York state recently added a tax credit in its budget that seemed designed specifically to benefit NBC’s move East with “Tonight.”

While a storied part of television tradition, the network late-night shows find themselves with much more competition now with cable programs like “Adult Swim,” smaller talk shows hosted by the Comedy Central duo of Stewart and Colbert, Chelsea Handler and a device — a large number of people take that time to watch programs they had taped earlier on their DVRs.

NBC is worried that ABC’s Kimmel will establish himself as a go-to late night performer for a younger generation if the network doesn’t move swiftly to install Fallon. ABC moved Kimmel’s time slot to directly compete with Leno earlier this year.

But the move also has the potential to backfire with Leno’s fans, who did not embrace O’Brien when Leno was temporarily moved to prime time a few years ago.

“The guys at NBC are not totally stupid and are not going to shoot themselves in the foot,” said Gary Carr, senior vice president and executive director of national broadcast for the ad buying firm TargetCast. “I think it’s a good move for them long-term. But it may have short-term ramifications.”

NBC has long prided itself on smooth transitions but that reputation took a hit with the short-lived and ill-fated move of O’Brien to “Tonight” and Leno to prime-time a few years ago. In morning television, the “Today” show has taken a ratings nose dive in large measure because of anger at how Ann Curry was treated when she was ousted last year as Matt Lauer’s co-host.

The Leno-Fallon changeover didn’t begin smoothly. Leno had been cracking jokes about NBC’s prime-time futility, angering NBC entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt, who sent a note to Leno telling him to cool it. That only made Leno go after NBC management much harder.

The first public effort toward making the transition smooth came Monday night, when Leno and Fallon appeared in a comic video making fun of the late-night rumors. It aired in between each man’s show.

John Dawson, general manager for five NBC affiliates that have extensive reach throughout Kansas, said it will be difficult to give up a program that wins its time period by 33 percent.

“Jay has always been a great friend to the affiliates,” he said. “For that alone it will be hard to give up.”

But he said he believes in Fallon and in NBC’s corporate owners Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company.

Jennifer Lopez follows Tyler off ‘American Idol’

LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Lopez followed Steven Tyler’s lead off “American Idol” on Friday, a one-two punch for a show on the brink of an adolescent identity crisis.

Lopez will not be back for a third year on television’s top-rated but struggling show, her representative, Mark Young, said Friday. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler announced Thursday he was exiting.

That means the “Idol” panel is down to one, original judge Randy Jackson, and there are reports that he may take a different role when the Fox show returns next January.

Lopez broke the news to “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest on his radio show.

“I really was dreading this phone call with you,” she told him. “I honestly feel like the time has come that I have to get back to doing the other things that I do that I’ve put kind of on hold because I love ‘Idol’ so much.”

“American Idol” has been TV’s most popular program for nearly a decade, but its ratings have declined as TV’s talent show field has grown more competitive.

When it returns for its 12th season next January, “Idol” will have to be a reengineered version of the once-powerhouse series that turned hopefuls such as Jennifer Hudson into stars and gave network rivals fits.

Speculation about potential new panelists has focused on Mariah Carey, with former “Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert getting a shout-out from his fans. Much is at stake for the show and for its judges: Lopez’s contract reportedly was worth $12 million and the stint proved a career-booster for her.

Fox and Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tyler started the exodus with his announcement Thursday that he was putting rock ‘n’ roll ahead of the show that he said had been “over-the-top fun.”

“I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back — but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band,” Tyler said in a statement. Aerosmith is on a nationwide tour with Tyler and has an album due out in the fall.

In a phone interview Thursday with The Associated Press as the news about Tyler broke, Lopez had said she was saddened to hear that Tyler was leaving and that his departure would play a role in her decision.

“I can’t even imagine anyone else there right now because I’ve just spent two years sitting next to him,” she said. “I love Steven, and we became close during that time. We were a great support for each other, on an adventure that neither one of us knew what it was going to be. So it’s hard to hear that he won’t be doing it.”

Jackson and his “dawg!” exclamations have been a stalwart part of “Idol.” But the show’s multi-year contracts, such as the one Jackson signed, typically include an escape clause that the network can choose to exercise or not.

In a statement Thursday, one Fox executive expressed measured regret over Tyler’s decision.

“We are very sad that Steven has chosen to focus more on his music, but we always knew when we hired a rock ‘n’ roll legend, he would go back to his music,” said Mike Darnell, the network’s president of alternative entertainment.

Seacrest, the other original cast member, will provide a stable center. He signed a two-year contract with “American Idol” producers this spring to continue as host.

The Fox series, which began with Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judges, has made changes on the panel over the years. Ellen DeGeneres joined one season, and songwriter Kara DioGuardi was added as a fourth judge to work with Jackson, Cowell and Abdul.

The addition of Tyler and Lopez two years ago added fresh star power, and the pair and Jackson clicked on-camera.

But “American Idol” ended up in a vulnerable position, coming off a May finale that drew 21.5 million viewers as Phillip Phillips was crowned the newest winner.

It was a record low finish and followed a pattern of declining viewership for the once-inevitably top-rated series, not to mention a pattern of “white guys with guitars,” as fans describe the show’s recent string of similar winners.

The series ended the 2011-12 season as No. 2 with an average 20 million viewers for the Wednesday performance episodes, just edging third-place “CSI” on CBS (19.7 million) and NBC’s top-rated “Sunday Night Football” (20.7 million).

“Idol” still rules among the most-watched talent shows, topping ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and NBC’s “The Voice.” But the Fox show is fighting to keep advertiser-favored young viewers, with “The Voice” nearly equaling its audience among adults 18 to 49.

Fox, which from the start has protected “Idol” by programming it just once a year, has now diluted its uniqueness with a family competitor, Cowell’s “The X Factor,” which debuted last fall. After a disappointing start, the show underwent its own judges’ shakeup to add Demi Lovato and Britney Spears.

“American Idol” hasn’t been helped by a run of champions who have failed to achieve the career sizzle of Hudson, Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson.

The winner, however, ultimately is up to the audience. The judges are in the network’s and producers’ control, and their next moves are critical ones.

———

AP Television Writer David Bauder and AP Music Editor Nekesa Mumbi Moody in New York contributed to this report.

Our favorite things to do starting July 25

July 25, 2012 —

Check out an overview of the best events, music and gatherings going on in Weld County.

‘Two and a Half Men’ actor calls his show ‘filth’

November 26, 2012 —

NEW YORK — The teenage actor who plays the half in the hit CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men” says in a video posted online by a Christian church that the show is “filth” and that viewers shouldn’t watch it.

Nineteen-year-old Angus T. Jones has been on the show, which used to feature bad-boy actor Charlie Sheen and remains heavy with sexual innuendo, since he was 10 but says he doesn’t want to be on it anymore.

Jones plays Jake, the son of Jon Cryer’s uptight divorced chiropractor character, Alan, and the nephew of Sheen’s hedonistic philandering music jingle writer character, Charlie. Sheen, who has publicly criticized CBS, was fired and replaced by Ashton Kutcher, who plays billionaire Walden.

In the video posted by the Forerunner Christian Church in Fremont, Calif., Jones describes a search for a spiritual home. He says the type of entertainment he’s involved in adversely affects the brain and “there’s no playing around when it comes to eternity.”

“You cannot be a true God-fearing person and be on a television show like that,” he said. “I know I can’t. I’m not OK with what I’m learning, what the Bible says, and being on that television show.”

Show producer Warner Bros. Television had no comment Monday. CBS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Two and a Half Men” survived a wild publicity ride less than two years ago, when Sheen was fired for his drug use and publicly complained about the network and the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre.

The show was moved from Monday to Thursday this season, and its average viewership has dropped from 20 million an episode to 14.5 million, although last year’s numbers were somewhat inflated by the intense interest in Kutcher’s debut. It is the third most popular comedy on television behind CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” and ABC’s “Modern Family.”

Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell offer custom voicemail message

November 21, 2012 —

Imagine having William Shatner supply your outgoing voicemail message. All it takes is $299 and some luck.

From Dec. 3 to Dec. 9, a limited number of 20-second long MP3 messages will be recorded by each celebrity on a first-come, first-served basis for fans to do with as they wish. All requests must be of the PG variety.

Essential ‘Twilight’: Take a trivia quiz

November 14, 2012 —

All right, all you Twilight-ers, the wait is almost over.

“Breaking Dawn - Part 2,” the highly anticipated final installment of the “Twilight” movie series, hits theaters Friday, and Stephenie Meyer’s bank-breaking story of star-crossed, vampire-to-human love will come to a close.

The fifth and final film is slightly different from the other movies in the series. For one, Bella’s finally a vampire and she and Edward have a child together. They also have to battle the most powerful vampire coven in order to keep their child alive.

You may have only seen the other films once when they hit theaters, but let’s be honest, you probably watched them 15 times more when they came out on DVD and on-demand.

Either way, it’s been a full year (and a whole lot of off-screen drama) since “Breaking Dawn - Part 1” hit the big screen. If you need to brush up on your Twi-Q before you head to the theater, this quiz will get your wheels turning again.

Add how many answers you get correct, and see just how big of a Twi-hard you really are. (Answers below.)

1. What city did Bella live in before she moved to Forks, Wash?

A. Jacksonville, Fla.

B. Phoenix

C. Salem, Ore.

D. Santa Fe, N.M.

2. In “Eclipse,” who does Bella punch in the face?

A. Jacob

B. Edward

C. Jared

D. James

3. What American Indian tribe do Jacob and his werewolf pack belong to?

A. Quileute

B. Chinook

C. Sanpoil

D. Chelan

4. What state was Jasper Hale (born Jasper Whitlock) originally from?

A. California

B. Texas

C. Georgia

D. Arizona

5. Who does Jacob imprint, an involuntary act of finding one’s soul mate?

A. Renesmee

B. Leah

C. Bella

D. Rosalie

6. What is Edward missing from his bedroom?

A. Television

B. Dresser

C. Bed

D. Windows

7. Why do the Cullens avoid going out into the sunlight?

A. They would burst into flames.

B. Their skin would turn red.

C. They would bleed.

D. Their skin sparkles.

8. What is Bella’s stepdad’s name?

A. Carlisle

B. Charlie

C. Phil

D. Bob

9. What game does Bella play with the Cullens in the first installment of the saga series, “Twilight”?

A. Flag football

B. Soccer

C. Basketball

D. Baseball

10. What are the names of the three elders of the Volturi?

A. Aro, Caius and Marcus

B. Alec, Marcus and Caius

C. Caius, Jane and Marcus

D. Aro, Caius and Alec

11. In “New Moon,” how does Edward intend to commit suicide?

A. By encouraging a werewolf attack

B. By drinking poison

C. By stepping out into the sunlight

D. By provoking the Volturi

12. What is the Volturi’s duty?

A. To protect humans from vampires

B. To ensure that vampires’ existence remain a secret from humans

C. To turn humans into vampires, thus increasing the vampire population

D. To create peace between vampires and mortals

13. Who is James, who appears in the first movie, “Twilight”?

A. One of Bella’s friends at school

B. Alice’s husband

C. A “tracker” vampire

D. Edward’s adopted brother

14. In “Breaking Dawn - Part 1,” who believes Renesmee to be an “immortal child,” a young human child that’s been turned into a vampire, and informs the Volturi of her existence?

A. Victoria

B. Irina

C. Carmen

D. Tanya

15. In “Eclipse,” who teaches the Cullens and the Wolves to fight the newborn vampires?

A. Jasper

B. Edward

C. Carlisle

D. Jacob

16. In “New Moon,” who voted against Bella becoming a vampire?

A. Edward

B. Edward and Rosalie

C. Carlisle and Edward

D. Carlisle and Rosalie

17. The “Twilight” saga is based on four novels, with one of the novels broken into two films. What order does the series go in from first to last?

A. Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon, Breaking Dawn

B. Eclipse, New Moon, Twilight, Breaking Dawn

C. New Moon, Eclipse, Twilight, Breaking Dawn

D. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn

ANSWERS

1) B. Phoenix

2) A. Jacob

3) A. Quileute

4) B. Texas

5) A. Renesmee

6) C. Bed

7) D. Their skin sparkles

8) C. Phil

9) D. Baseball

10) A. Aro, Caius and Marcus

11) D. By provoking the Volturi

12) B. To ensure that vampires’ existence remain a secret from humans

13) C. A “tracker” vampire

14) B. Irina

15) A. Jasper

16) B. Edward and Rosalie

17) D. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn

HOW DID YOU SCORE?

0-4 points: To Twi or not to Twi? You don’t really remember. You’ll need to go back and watch most of the movies before you see the last installment, or you might be lost through the whole movie.

5-8 points: Twi, Twi again. It’s been a while, so recollection of all the details is sketchy. But you’re slapping your forehead because you know that you knew all the answers at some point.

9-12 points: Good Twi. You’ve seen the movies or read the books recently enough to have a firm grasp of the characters, plot and details. Have fun at the last movie.

13-17 points: Twi-athlete. Congratulations. You’re worthy of calling yourself a Twi-hard. You’re the ones who will be posting Twitter reviews immediately after the movie, helping us decide whether to fork over the cash or wait till it’s out on DVD.

People magazine says Channing Tatum is sexiest man

November 14, 2012 —

NEW YORK — Channing Tatum is People magazine’s “sexiest man alive” for 2012.

The 32-year-old actor says his first thought on hearing the news was: “‘Y’all are messing with me.’”

Tatum’s film roles include “Magic Mike” and the upcoming “Foxcatcher.”

Other actors who have received the “sexiest” label include George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Ryan Reynolds. Last year’s “sexiest man” was Bradley Cooper.

More residents are refinancing as mortgage rates hit historic lows

More residents are taking advantage of refinancing their homes this year, as mortgage rates go down.

The Colorado Division of Housing has tracked six consecutive quarters in which the mortgage rates have sunk, down to 3.55 percent this quarter, with corresponding rates of refinance activity.

Throughout the state in the third quarter of the year, the division tracked 78,240 total releases of deeds of trust, showing a 54 percent increase in activity from the same time the year before.

Very few releases are actual payoffs of a mortgage, explained Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the state division of housing. Rather, most of those numbers represent refinance activity, which could pay off more than one loan at a time. The report essentially tracks that refinance activity and how it corresponds with now historically low mortgage rates.

What this latest report shows, McMaken said, is that low interest rates are essentially the main reason for the high numbers.

“When you look at this, you think what’s going to change this?” McMaken said. “I look out there, and see that so much demand in real estate now is being driven by low interest rates. Would there be this activity going on if interest rates were higher, and not even much higher, like at 4 percent? Looking at wage growth, and unemployment issues, which aren’t excellent right now, it seems that this demand for real estate now is heavily dependent on low interest rates.”

The most desired effect of refinancing is bringing down monthly mortgage payments.

In Weld County, there were 3,366 releases of deeds in the third quarter, compared to 2,130 at the same time last year. That’s a 58 percent increase, and one of the highest growths in the state. Weld numbers grew 14 percent from the second quarter of the year, the report noted.

But comparatively, when the number of households is fit into the equation, Weld is about average for refinance activity compared to other areas of the state.

McMaken said more affluent areas typically show the highest amount of refinance activity, and the third quarter numbers don’t vary from that. For the third quarter, the report shows the highest rate of refi activity was in Douglas, Summit, Boulder, Broomfield and Larimer counties, the report stated.

“It’s easier to get a refi now if a home is in a place where neighborhood retains it value, or prices are heading up,” McMaken said.

Median sales prices in the Greeley/Evans area are finally on the rise, which makes sense since the area was so overbuilt before the crash in 2008.

“Refi activity in Weld is about in the middle,” McMaken said. “There’s an upward trend because Weld had a long way to go in terms of recovering the lost value. … In some of those areas that were really overbuilt, they’re just starting to get back to home prices they had in ‘07.”

FX orders 90 more episodes of ‘Anger Management’

August 29, 2012 —

LOS ANGELES — FX is ordering 90 more episodes of “Anger Management,” Charlie Sheen’s TV comeback vehicle after being fired from “Two and a Half Men.”

The unusually large order reflects the original agreement that FX made for the sitcom that stars Sheen as a therapist.

As part of the deal, FX set a ratings target for eight of the first 10 episodes of “Anger Management.” The show reached the threshold, earning an automatic 90-episode order, the channel said.

The round figure of 100 episodes is the benchmark for series syndication, and that’s the future for episodes that have shown first on FX, said producer Debmar-Mercury, a Lionsgate subsidiary.

“Anger Management” will go into syndication in September 2014, the company said Wednesday. It’s a model that Debmar-Mercury used with the Ice Cube sitcom “Are We There Yet?” and on “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns.”

FX Networks executive vice president Chuck Saftler said he’s confident the producers and cast will be able to produce the full order during the next two years after quickly turning out the first 10.

In July, Sheen said the prospect of continuing is as “exciting as hell,” and added, “I don’t think 90’s gonna be enough.”

FX called “Anger Management” cable’s highest-rated new comedy series this year, averaging 4.5 million total viewers.

The number reflects the show’s initial strong showing after its June debut, when it attracted more than 5.5 million viewers.

The show’s viewership dropped to below 3 million for some later episodes and was hard-hit by the Olympics in August, averaging just under 2 million, according to Nielsen Co.

But “Anger Management” remained a healthy performer among advertiser-coveted young adult viewers, which was key to FX’s decision to place the big-ticket order.

Sheen, who was replaced by Ashton Kutcher on CBS’ top-rated comedy, was fired in 2011 by studio Warner Bros. Television because of his erratic personal life and public ridicule of the show’s producer.

With “Anger Management,” Sheen answers in part to himself with what FX has called a “significant ownership stake” in the show. Bruce Helford is the executive producer.